1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a defibrillator for external application to a patient, which has an energy storage unit for administering a defibrillation shock, which has a capacitor unit equipped with at least one capacitor.
2. Discussion of Related Art
A defibrillator is known from German Patent Reference DE 100 15 152 A1. An energy storage unit, which is built into the defibrillator for a defibrillation pulse to be administered to a patient, has a plurality of capacitors integrated into the unit and can be electrically connected to one another in series or parallel, in different ways, via controlled switches in order to produce the defibrillation energy. This makes it possible to adapt to different impedances of patients. This design requires a relatively complex control technique.
A similar design is taught by U.S. Patent Application Publication 2003/0004547 A1, in which five capacitors are connected both in series and in parallel in various configurations for the discharging procedure.
The adaptation of the defibrillation shock to the patient impedance is taught by various publications, such as U.S. Pat. No. 6,493,580, with an adaptation of the pulse duration to the patient impedance and with a cyclical BTE pulse (biphasic truncated exponential) taught by U.S. Pat. No. 5,372,606 with variation of the pulse length as a function of the patient impedance and taught by German Patent Reference DE 102 54 481 B3 with a current-controlled end stage.
If a plurality of capacitors are used as energy storage units, then in most cases, this facilitates the energy production through parallel connection of the capacitors. They are then connected in series for administration of the shock.
German Patent Reference DE 197 51 024 A1 discloses a defibrillator with a permanently built-in capacitor unit and accessories that are attachable, but that do not relate to the actual defibrillator electronics of the main device. The same is also true for the defibrillator disclosed in German Patent Reference DE 100 28 410 A1.